Nick Diaz
Nick Diaz is the former Strikeforce welterweight champion, with victories over such notable fighters as Marius Zaromskis, Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith, an overturned victory over former Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi, and a knockout of knockout artist Robbie Lawler. He had a tough stint in the UFC with several close decision losses to opponents such as Sean Sherk, Diego Sanchez, and Karo Parisyan. He is known for his extensive submission and grappling expertise, his unorthodox striking, his smack talk inside the cage and his tendency to habitually smoke marijuana. He is the older brother and mentor of TUF 5 winner - and superstar in his own right - Nate Diaz, currently the only man to defeat Conor McGregor inside the UFC. Dream and Strikeforce Diaz won his most recent fight against Hayato Sakurai in Dream, submitting the veteran fighter via armbar. Despite rumors that he might fight Jason Miller because of their grudge match after the Strikeforce Nashville brawl, rumors said that Diaz was next expected to fight in the Strikeforce middleweight tournament to decide the number-one contender for the title. Instead, Diaz defended his welterweight title for the first time against rival KJ Noons in a rematch of their controversial bout. He defeated Noons via a close unanimous decision to retain the belt and avenge his loss. During the bout, Noons suffered a broken jaw and a broken left hand but continued to battle onwards. Diaz next defended his title against the vicious Evangelista Santos, winning via armbar submission with ten seconds left in the second round. He next defended his welterweight title against heavy-handed British striker Paul Daley. Diaz defeated Daley via knockout with seconds remaining in the first round. Back to the UFC Diaz next vacated his Strikeforce welterweight title and returned to the UFC to face UFC welterweight champion and P4P king Georges St. Pierre. He missed two consecutive press conferences and wasted $15,000 on two missed flights. The UFC management pulled Diaz from the bout, but stated that he would remain in the promotion. He was replaced in the title bout against St. Pierre by St. Pierre's training partner: former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit. Diaz next stepped in to replace Condit against former UFC welterweight and lightweight champion B.J. Penn, defeating Penn via a bloody and exciting unanimous decision. After the fi ght, Diaz called champion St. Pierre "scared" and called him out. St. Pierre accepted the challenge but was soon cursed with his second straight knee injury and forced to pull out of the bout. Carlos Condit stepped up to replace St. Pierre, ironically enough. The fight between Diaz and Condit would now be for the UFC interim welterweight title. Condit defeated Diaz via a close and controversial unanimous decision, breaking his years-long winning streak. In the post-fight interview, Diaz retire but he seemed to rethink the decision in the days after the fight. Diaz also failed his pre-fight drug test for marijuana, resulting in a year-long suspension from the sport. Diaz was announced to be finally returning in February 2013, possibly on Super Bowl weekend in a fight against fellow veteran Josh Koscheck. The fight never materialized and after Georges St. Pierre defeated Condit via unanimous decision in November 2012, he turned down a superfight against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and called out Diaz. If Diaz accepted the fight, it would take place one month after he gets off suspension in February 2013.. in March 2013, Montreal, Canada. For the UFC welterweight title held by St. Pierre. The fight did indeed take place with a lot of trash talk from Diaz hyping up the pay-per-view sales beforehand to become one of the most anticipated fights of 2013 to that point. The fight turned out as many had expected with St. Pierre on cruise control outwrestling and outjabbing Diaz en route to a twenty-five minute unanimous decision victory. Retirement After the fight, Diaz again retired from the sport, saying he only wanted big fights if he was to continue fighting in mixed martial arts. He would only fight champions such as St. Pierre or Anderson Silva. Diaz also began running his own promotion, WAR MMA. In August 2013, Diaz was briefly offered an opportunity to go up to middleweight to fight former UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida who was coming down to 185 pounds. It seemed that Diaz would stay retired for now. In late September 2013 Diaz was also called out by another middleweight fighter in Strikeforce veteran and U.S. Army Ranger Tim Kennedy. In mid-October Diaz was called out by middleweight veteran Michael Bisping. In November 2013 Dana White allegedly "offered Diaz a fight" -- a rematch against Carlos Condit in fact -- but was called back by Diaz's manager Cesar Gracie with the reply that Diaz was retired. Dana said it would be the last time he offered Diaz a fight. In February 2014 Diaz was quoted as saying he would only return if he could fight for the title against the winner of the vacant UFC welterweight title fight between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler. In April 2014 Diaz was offered a fight against former Bellator middleweight champion and current UFC welterweight contender Hector Lombard. Out of Retirement... Again Diaz finally signed a three-fight contract with the UFC in July 2014 after over a year out of the Octagon. The first fight would come against former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in January 2015, nearly two years removed from Diaz's last fight against St. Pierre. Silva defeated Diaz via a lackluster unanimous decision, before testing positive for steroids after the fight. Diaz tested positive for marijuana. Suspension and Aftermath Diaz was at first handed a ludicrous five-year suspension from the sport by the corrupt Nevada State Athletic Commission. After a massive outcry from fans and a spirited defense by Diaz's legal counsel the NSAC compromised with a stiffer fine of Diaz's purse from the Silva fight as well as reducing the sentence to a still-ridiculous but not quite-as-ludicrous eighteen months. In August 2016 Diaz was finally released from his suspension. He immediately reentered himself into the MMA scene embroiling himself in verbal feuds with former UFC welterweight champ and former rival Georges St. Pierre and newly crowned UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley. Diaz also called for professional boxing promoters to buy out his UFC contract so that he could box instead of fight in the UFC. The NSAC stated that Diaz's suspension would still stand until he had finished paying the last of his suspension fines. Diaz didn't seem to be in any hurry to pay off the fines. Meanwhile he was called out by middleweight Gegard Mousasi, making no comment on the callout. UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping also called out Diaz for a title fight in Canada at UFC 206. Unfortunately, as of January 2018 (three years after the Silva fight and over a year after the lifting of the suspension), Diaz was in no talks to fight. Instead he appeared to be a professional nightcluber and social media personality. Fights * Nick Diaz vs. Chris Lytle *Nick Diaz vs. Blaine Tyler - - Diaz came into the fight undefeated. It was the quarterfinals of the King of the Mountain tournament. Diaz would go on to defeat Adam Lynn in the semifinals before losing to Jeremy Jackson in the finals. The fight was Blaine Tyler's only MMA bout ever and thus it was his MMA debut as well. *Nick Diaz vs. Jeremy Jackson 1 - The fight was in the finals of the King of the Mountain tournament for the UA welterweight title. Both fighters had defeated two opponents earlier that night. Jeremy Jackson had defeated Mike Penalber and Zach Light. Diaz had defeated Adam Lynn and Blaine Tyler. Diaz came into the fight undefeated. *Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Nick Diaz *Nick Diaz vs. Jeremy Jackson 2 - The fight was for the IFC welterweight championship with Diaz defending. *Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler *Nick Diaz vs. Drew Fickett - The fight was Drew Fickett's UFC debut. *Nick Diaz vs. Diego Sanchez - The fight was thought -- especially at the time -- to be one of the most exciting ground fights in UFC and MMA history. The fight was also thought to be an intense grudge match, with both fighters hating each other. The hate was mainly instigated by Diaz. Diego Sanchez came out the victor in a razor-close decision. *Nick Diaz vs. Joe Riggs - The two fought at the hospital after the controversial decision win that Joe Riggs earned. *Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi - The fight was Diaz's Pride debut and only fight with the promotion. Diaz won the fight via gogoplata submission after breaking his orbital during the bout. After the fight, Diaz tested positive for marijuana and the fight result was changed to a no-contest. *Nick Diaz vs. Mike Aina - The fight was Diaz's EliteXC debut, as well as Mike Aina's. *Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons 1 - The fight was for the vacant EliteXC lightweight title. Diaz disputed the cut stoppage loss. *Nick Diaz vs. Katsuya Inoue - The fight was Diaz's Dream debut. *Nick Diaz vs. Muhsin Corbbrey *Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny *Nick Diaz vs. Frank Shamrock - The fight was Diaz's Strikeforce debut. Frank Shamrock allegedly came into the bout with a rib injury sustained in training. The fight was the last fight in Shamrock's career. *Nick Diaz vs. Scott Smith - The fight was the second and last of Diaz's short stint as a middleweight fighter in Strikeforce before he captured the welterweight title. Diaz landed an incredible amount of punches in the fight. *Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis - The fight was for the vacant first-ever Strikeforce welterweight title. *Nick Diaz vs. Hayato Sakurai - The fight was for Dream, in a rare cage whereas the promotion usually employs a boxing ring. The loss was Hayato Sakurai's third in a row, to add to losses to Marius Zaromskis. and Akihiro Gono. *Nick Diaz vs. KJ Noons 2 - The fight was for the Strikeforce welterweight title with Diaz defending. KJ Noons suffered a broken jaw and broken left hand in the bout. *Nick Diaz vs. Evangelista Santos - The fight was for the Strikeforce welterweight championship with Diaz defending. *Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley - The fight was for the Strikeforce welterweight title with Nick Diaz defending. *Nick Diaz vs. B.J. Penn - The fight was the return to the UFC for former Strikeforce welterweight champion Diaz. B.J. Penn retired after the fight. With the victory, Diaz broke the record for most strikes landed in a UFC fight. *Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz - The fight was for the UFC interim welterweight championship. *Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz Quotes: Diaz after the Condit fight “I’m not going to accept the fact that this was a loss. I’ve lost fights before, where, uh, ya know, like, I’m not going to accept that either. That ain’t right. I pushed him back the whole fight. I walked him down. I got the takedown. I'm the guy who went out on top. Had I thought I wasn't ahead, I'd have chinned in and finished that arm lock. Hey Carlos is a great guy, I’m happy for him and his family. I think I’m done with this MMA. It’s been great out here. I’ve had a good career. You guys pay me way too much. But I don’t think I’m going to get enough to keep going in this. It’s been a good time. You know Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Good job Carlos, you’re the man, bro.” When asked if he was really going to retire by Joe Rogan he said, “You know I don’t need this s**t. You know what I mean? I pushed this guy backwards the whole fight. He ran from me the whole fight. I landed the harder shots. He ran the whole time. He kicked me in my leg a little bit with little baby leg kicks the whole fight. That was the way they understand to win in here, I don’t want to play this game no more. I’ll help out my team and my brother but I’m outta this s**t.” Other Quotes "If you're getting paid more than me, then I'm definitely more excited about the ass whooping I'm gonna put on you." - Nick DiazCategory:Welterweight fighters Category:Strikeforce welterweight champions Category:Jiu jitsu specialists Category:Sibling fighters